What is yellow gold?

Fine gold is the only metal in the world which is yellow in its pure form. Because pure gold is too soft, and therefore too sensitive to dents and scratches for the manufacture of gold jewellery, an alloy of gold with other metals is always used. These include silver, palladium, copper or nickel. Pure 24 carat gold is an ochre yellow colour. To produce an alloy of 18 carats, fine gold is melted together with silver and copper. Depending on the proportion of metal added, the colour of the metal will vary from yellow to pink or red. If the fine gold is alloyed with a certain amount of silver and copper, a yellow gold alloy is produced.

Back to all questions